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tv   Teen Kids News  KRON  September 29, 2012 2:30pm-3:00pm PDT

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the hungarian city of budapest. >> and there's lots more ahead, so stay with us. >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm livia. here's this week's top story. >> it could be a key to cheaper energy, or an environmental plague. how you view fracking depends on how you weigh the pros and cons. scott drills into a controversy that could affect us all. >> this is not about the kind of gas used by most cars. it's about natural gas, also called "methane." it's a fuel used for everything from cooking food, to heating homes, to even generating electricity. natural gas comes from deep
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underground. it's trapped amid layers of shale rock. to release the gas, you have to break apart the rock. that process is called "fracking," and that's what the controversy is all about. >> ♪ water goes into the pipe ♪ the pipe into the ground ♪ the pressure creates fissures 7,000 feet down ♪ ♪ the cracks release the gas that powers your town ♪ >> that's from a video produced by propublica. they're a group looking into whether fracking is safe. according to those in favor of fracking, it's not a threat. >> fracking has been used in the united states for decades, and it was developed quite a long time ago to do exactly what we do now with the natural gas. >> well, not exactly. frackers used to just drill straight down. >> and they've now turned the drill bit at a 90-degree angle once it's hit the bottom. >> that's called "horizontal fracking." some claim this might actually cause small earthquakes. another issue is what's being pumped into the rock to force out the gas. new mixes of sand, water and chemicals are being used. critics claim those mixes may be
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more dangerous. >> ♪ with names like benzene and formaldehyde ♪ ♪ you better keep it far away from the water supply ♪ >> these companies are using highly toxic and, in some cases, chemicals that are known human carcinogens, which means chemicals that cause cancer. >> some believe that fracking too close to schools is causing problems. >> in states all across this country, where kids are coming home from school after playing during recess or during after-school sports practices, complaining of severe headaches, nausea, their eyes are watering. >> while george w. bush was president, the government changed some of the laws that protected the nation's drinking water. >> ♪ so it all goes back to 2005 ♪ ♪ bush said gas drillers didn't have to comply ♪ ♪ with the safe drinking water act ♪ ♪ before too long it was "frack, baby frack" ♪ ♪ until the break of dawn >> with fracking that's not properly regulated comes another threat -- the release of toxic gas into the air. >> so, on top of the drinking water being contaminated and undrinkable, the air is also posing a serious health problem, as well. >> alex is from the environmental working group. they want to prevent pollution.
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rachel works for a company that represents the gas industry. they want to help america benefit from an important source of fuel. both sides probably agree on one thing... >> ♪ now, it's not that drillers should never be fracking ♪ ♪ but the current regulation is severely lacking ♪ ♪ reduce the toxins, contain the gas and wastewater ♪ ♪ and the people won't get sick ♪ ♪ and the planet won't get hotter, hotter, hotter ♪ >> it's an ongoing tug-of-war between the need for jobs and energy, and the need to protect our health and planet. so expect to hear a lot more about fracking. >> we'll be back with more "teen kids news" in just a few moments. >> stick with us.
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>> there's a saying that one way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket. but diyu reports on some students who used smart business sense and creativity to double their money for a very good cause. >> these new jersey teens have been getting ready for a special
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shopping expedition for months, all because one of them saw a tv show on extreme couponing. >> so i thought, that'd be a really great way to help the soup kitchen, is raise the money, and raise coupons and help them get more bang for their buck. >> collecting coupons was just the beginning. they stretched their buying power even further by reaching out to the y.s.a. -- youth service america. headquartered in washington, d.c., y.s.a. helps kids find financing. if you have a good idea for a public service project, y.s.a. can help you get what's called "grant money." in this case, a company named sodexo liked the coupon idea and wrote a check. >> we won a $500 grant from this company, and we were supposed to use it to shop for food, using coupons. >> we're working with the sodexo foundation, and they gave a grant to us, which we re-granted out. and the extreme-couponing young
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people took that idea and multiplied the effect of that grant to really affect hunger in their community in a positive way. >> we got the coupons from parents and students who brought them into school and put them in boxes for collecting. >> and a lot of people don't even use the circulars, the coupons that come in their sunday or weekend newspaper. so we had un-- it was an untapped resource. >> the kids also collected coupons outside their local supermarket, which became a supportive partner in the project. we also had boxes, shoe boxes at each register, for our cashiers to collect coupons for the students. >> the students from bernardsville middle school gathered all the coupons and then hit the aisles. >> it's a lot harder than it seems it would be, 'cause you've got to make sure of the expiration date, and it's the exact size and exact brand. >> i learned that it's really hard work, but it's really fun, too. >> they also had to keep in mind that the soup kitchen can only
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use certain types of products. >> we need things that don't expire easily, not perishable fruits. >> we bought canned fruit... >> canned meat and vegetables... >> soups. >> ...pasta and coffee... >> and we bought necessities like toothpaste. >> ...deodorant. >> ...and a lot of personal-care supplies for the people that would come into the soup kitchen. >> between the $500 grant, their coupons, as well as donations and discounts from the store, the kids came away with more than $1,000 worth of goods. their efforts truly paid off when it was time to make the delivery. >> it really helps out people who are struggling. >> i've been pretty fortunate in my life, i guess, and i think it's really important to give back. >> the program that the kids were involved with, collecting coupons and getting a grant to help support the soup kitchen, is so important. and it just helps to keep us going 365 days a year.
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we wouldn't be able to do it without the support of the community and groups like these children. >> so before you throw away any of those coupons you get in the mail or at the store, remember this. they're an easy opportunity to make a difference in your community. for "tkn," i'm diyu. >> here's one for the record books -- $56,000 for a single tooth. it's almost 5 inches long, but that's not what made it so valuable. it came from a tyrannosaurus rex. the giant meat-eater lived in montana about 67 million years ago. i wonder if tooth fairies work on commission. >> you work and work to make your essay sing. don't let a grammar goof hit a sour note. christina tells us how to make sure your subject and verb are in harmony. [ cheers and applause ] >> does that sound right to you? >> sentence sounded fine. [ buzzer ] >> sorry, but it's wrong. and he's not alone.
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a lot of kids would miss what's not right in this sentence. the principle here is subject-verb agreement. the subject of the sentence is not "spectators." it's "each." and "each" is singular. therefore, the verb needs to be singular, as well. so, the sentence should read, "each of the 5,000 spectators at the game was cheering wildly." tom clements is an s.a.t. tutor and author. he has an easy way to check your sentence -- read it without all the other words that get between the subject and the verb. >> so, in the sentence "each of the 5,000 spectators at the game were cheering wildly," which is a mistake, if you bracket off the prepositional phrase "of the 5,000 spectators at the game," then the sentence -- the subject and the verb -- immediately fall into place, and you can see what the problem is gonna be. >> so let's see if it works. >> each was cheering wildly. [ ding! ]
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>> correct. let's hear some wild cheering for a grammar tip that's going to help us all write better essays. [ cheers and applause ] for "tkn," i'm christina.
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>> this report is brought to you by the u.s. tennis association. >> nice. >> every day at the u.s. open is special. but the u.s. tennis association made sure these kids got an extra-special connection. >> all you see are role models everywhere here. >> olympic athletes joined other
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celebrities for a tennis clinic to fight childhood obesity. >> it's a perfect day for us to shine a light on the need for kids to embrace active, healthy lifestyles. >> cullen jones won a gold medal for swimming, but the advice he serves up is, any sport will do. >> get up, go play basketball, go swim, go do other things. be healthy. >> the olympians joined with the u.s.t.a. in response to a call for action from the white house. >> you know, the first lady has really challenged everybody to unite around our kids to raise a healthier generation. >> we just got to get as many kids as we can moving, playing tennis, fencing, whatever it is. we just have a huge issue that we got to tackle. >> i'm very into kids getting fit. i'm actually a mother, and i have 6-year-old, and i actually -- i think people think i'm, like, psycho mom, but i have her in some kind of sport after school every day. >> the u.s.t.a.'s commitment goes well beyond this one day. it's building or restoring 3,000 tennis courts across the country and training 12,000 coaches.
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that's why actress and tennis mom christine taylor is happy to join the fun. >> to be able to combine the country's al and the u.s.t.a.'s goal and being able to sort of put it all together today is really a wonderful thing, and i'm thrilled to be part of it. >> and these kids are clearly thrilled, too. tennis is a great way for you to have lots of fun and be active. now through october 6th, there are plenty of u.s.t.a. free tennis play days happening all around the country. to find one near you check out... for "tkn," i'm carly. >> when you fly, where do you prefer to sit? if it's the seat next to the window, you're not alone. 60% of all passengers choose the view. 40% prefer an aisle seat. if you do the math, you'll make an important discovery. no one prefers a middle seat. hey, airlines, here's my suggestion -- get rid of middle seats. that'll make everyone happy.
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be out there! be out there! [female announcer] time was, kids did what came naturally, spending free time running barefoot through the grass, wading knee deep in streams, climbing to the tallest branch. but today, american kids are more likely found texting, watching tv, or gazing at a computer screen. they spend more than seven hours in front of electronic media.
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something essential has been lost. that's why national wildlife federation created the be out there movement. kids moving indoors causes a host of problems, from obesity to adhd. but outdoor play can go a long way to improving kid's health, body, mind and spirit. it helps them stay fit, enhances creativity and attention spans and could even make them better students. do your part. be a part of be out there. there's a reason why they call it the great outdoors. learn more at be out there dot org. [kids shouting] be out there!
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>> there are thousands of sleepaway camps and adventure programs in the u.s., so every year, a whole lot of kids are going off on their own for the first time in their lives. and not everyone makes that adjustment easily. but as tyler reports, a little homesickness might not be all that bad. >> yes, i'm very excited, but i'm a little nervous. >> katie's in middle school. she's about to spend several weeks of the summer away from home. >> i've never been that long, far away from my mom before. >> for katie and all the other first-time campers, dr. michael thompson has
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reassuring news. he wrote the book "homesick and happy." as the title says, you can miss your family and still be having a good time. >> i think there are many kids who love camp but have, in the evening, at bedtime, or when they wake up in the morning, some really painful feelings of homesickness, and then they're great the rest of the day. >> for my first year i was homesick. >> the first day i went there, i was really sad 'cause it was, like, the first time i've ever been to a sleepaway camp. >> i cried for about a day or two. >> i sort of felt scared being away from home and being away from the safeness of my parents. >> so, what do you do about it? dr. thompson says share your feelings. >> it helps to talk to your friends. it especially helps to talk to your counselor. one of the things you learn at camp is that almost everybody is homesick from time to time. >> since it was a girl scout camp i, like, ate cookies to make myself feel better, but there was, like, my friends there, too, from my troop, and they helped me. >> it's also okay to let your parents know that you're feeling a little homesick. but make sure you're not making
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it sound a lot worse than it really is. >> because the kid very often puts all the pain in the letter, sends it off, and then feels good and goes out to play gaga ball. it's the parent who opens that envelope and gets the pain and thinks, "oh, i have to rescue my child." many parents, in fact, make homesickness worse by continually trying to call the camp. >> well, i think in the middle of the summer, my parents definitely miss me more. >> my parents miss me more. >> here's something else to keep in mind. overcoming homesickness is an achievement you can be proud of. >> when you're away at camp, hey, that's yours. right? your mom didn't arrange it. your dad isn't at the sidelines. it's your victory, your challenge, your choice. >> i love my parents, but there's a time where you just have to sort of leave and be by yourself, and just live. >> and that's why kids who start off homesick usually wind up being happy. >> i interviewed hundreds of kids, and about 6 kids in 100 have a really serious homesickness. what knocked me out was that
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half those kids go back the next year. they really want to beat it. >> dr. thompson says there are some kids who just aren't ready to be away from home. if you can't shake the homesick blues, then definitely let someone know. after all, there's always next year. >> to mark our 10th year on tv, each week we take a look back at one of the stories we've covered. >> most kids agree, there's not much better than a good piece of bubble gum. >> it's just fun. you could just spend a whole day bubbling -- blowing bubbles. >> it's nice, it's tasty, and it's fun. >> but there's more to bubble gum than meets the eye -- or the mouth. for instance, why did walter diemer, the man who invented it, make dubble bubble pink? >> they only had one food color that day to play with, and it happened to be pink. guess what. he made the first batch of bubble gum pink and forever and a day thereafter, it's always been pink. >> there's an art to bubble blowing, and no one knows that
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better than ina cambridge. she's the dubble bubble national bubble blowing champion, and we caught up with her at dylan's candy bar. >> chew for 15 minutes to get all the sugar out so that it's elastic. my second tip is to blow slowly and steadily. [ pop! ] >> well, i guess there's nothing left to do but give it a try. here's something i bet you didn't know. chewing gum burns 11 calories per hour. so if you chewed gum every waking hour of every day for a year, you could lose 11 pounds. i'm courtney for "kids news."
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>> if you tend to overeat, here's an interesting tip.
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eat foods with strong smells. a new study found that strong smells encourage us to take smaller bites. and small bites lead to smaller portions. and smaller portions lead to a healthier diet. guess you could call this the "sweet smell of success." >> during ancient times, two cities grew up on opposite sides of the mighty danube river in central europe. nicole tells us how a storm helped change history. >> budapest is the capital of hungary, but it wasn't always one city. the river danube divided buda and pest until a terrible storm led to the building of a bridge. the story goes that count széchenyi's father fell ill here on the pest side. the count was on the other side of the river, the buda side. by the time the count got across by boat, his father had died. he had even missed his father's funeral. the count took on the task of raising money for this bridge to be built so people would always be able to cross the river.
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called the "chain bridge," because its cables look like bicycle chains, it was completed in the mid-1800s. a few years later, the cities of buda and pest were officially united, and for good measure, they threw in a third neighboring city -- obuda. it has been budapest ever since. some say the first king here was attila the hun, hence the name "hungary." others say the first king was actually st. stephen. there's a magnificent church built in his name. the funicular is a train that's more like an elevator. it travels up the steep castle hill. at the top is buda castle. for centuries, this is where the rulers of hungary lived. the city has seen some terrible times. the area has been conquered by the turks, retaken by the christians, then during world war ii, the germans
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occupied budapest. the nazis rounded up jews, sending them to extermination camps. but this man, swedish diplomat raoul wallenberg, saved thousands virtually single-handed. at great personal risk, he protected hungarian jews by issuing them swedish passports. that's why there are memorials to wallenberg throughout budapest. when troops from the soviet union arrived, the germans fled, but not before blowing up all the bridges across the danube. the soviets claimed they had liberated the city. they even erected this liberty monument. but the people were not truly liberated. hungary was oppressed by communist rule until the soviet union ended in 1990. since then, the hungarian parliament has been home to officials elected by the people. although divided by a wide river, the city is united by history and heritage. budapest takes great pride in its nickname --
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"capital of freedom." above the danube, between buda and pest, i'm nicole for "teen kids news." >> this fashion report is brought to you by ralph lauren. for new york fashion week, young stars and young models set the trends. kiernan shipka got a front-row seat at the ralph lauren girl's fashion show. and that's teen vogue's senior fashion news director, jane keltner da valle. in the spotlight, trends for fall and the holidays. look for brightly colored pants and leggings and fabulous layers over pleated bib-front shirts. on the runway, traditional sweater looks like fair isle and sweet samplers, in contrast with repaired jeans and faux fur vests over everything. you can dress up with ruffles and mix it up with motocross boots. bags are a big story this fall. so are ballet flats and high-top
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sneakers with a leopard look. choose from beautiful plaids, lush velvet, and shiny silk. and top it off with a fabulous faux-fur trapper hat, or better yet, a puppy. for "tkn," i'm katie. >> that's "teen kids news" for now. thanks for tuning in. >> we'll be back next week. see you then.
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